1918

Wilbur Woleben reports the death of his wife Ernestine on February 14, followed by his illness which kept him hospitalized for several weeks. The sympathy of the Class was conveyed along with wishes for his recovery.

Syl and Minetta Morey are back in Great Barrington after spending a good part of the winter at the Keewayden Club at Fort Myers.

Tom Bryant tells of Paul Erwin's son Paul Jr. '49 being president of the Philadelphia Alumni Association. He presided at the annual dinner held recently. Tom was not able to attend; but needless to say wild horses would not have kept Paul away.

Sime and Gertrude Gordon spent several weeks in California this past winter. In a letter to Jake and The Roar Sime refers to several of Ben Stone's accomplishments. I am sorry lone and I did not run into the Gordons in the Golden State. We were there about the same time.

Steve Mahoney comes through with an interesting letter from Don Bliss. Here is the first paragraph: "Dear Steve: Thank you for remembering that I once served my country in Ethiopia. I found it a most fascinating country, green and beautiful on the central plateau and surrounded by deserts which helped to keep it insulated for centuries; so isolated that when I was in Addis Ababa the country seemed to have reached the stage of political and social development of Saxon England. The Emperor knew that could not last and gave his people a constitution looking toward the evolution of a constitutional monarchy; but he wanted the evolution to be gradual and orderly. It is now out of hand, it seems, and I can foresee nothing but chaos for a long time to come. Certainly Endelkatchew Makonmen is not the man for these times when the country is afflicted by drought and the people clamoring for a democracy with which they have had no experience and for a prosperity which is not in sight. Ethiopia got along very well as an agricultural economy, fertile and well watered; but it lacks any natural resources to bring it the riches of oil deposits and any basis for industrial development. End of lecture."

After preparing the above I was able to drive myself into the early afternoon and early evening annual President's meeting of the Dartmouth Club of Chicago. Bill Shellman and I were the only "18ers present and there were no earlier classes. President Kemeny did his usual fine job of giving us a true picture of Dartmouth at this time, albeit it a sobering one.

Alumni Fund plug. Give till it feels good.

Sec., R.D. 2, Joliet, Ill. 60431

Class Agent, Lower Troy Road Fitzwilliam, N.H. 03477